Tata-Fiat JV for pickup trucks in Argentina

BY OUR AUTO CORRESPONDENT

February 16, 2006: Italian auto giant Fiat has formed a joint venture with India’s Tata Motors to make pick-up trucks in Argentina. The amount of money to be pumped into the project has been estimated at $80 million.

The two companies already have a joint venture since last July. Now they are expanding their strategic co-operation for starting an industrial project outside India.

The joint venture, which calls for Tata license to build a pick-up vehicle, bearing the Fiat nameplate at Fiat Group Automobiles' plant in Cordoba, Argentina, follows a feasibility study started in July 2006, said a report.

The first vehicles from the Argentine JV are expected to roll off the Cordoba assembly lines from 2008 with an annual production target slated around 20,000 vehicle. The Tata Group said that the vehicle, based on the new generation Tata pick-up truck, will be sold in South and Central America and select European markets through Fiat Automobiles' distribution and importer network.

Besides, the joint venture is seen as helping the Fiat brand to aggressively enter the medium pick-up sector. Engines for the pick-up will be manufactured in Fiat Powertrain Technology's facility in Sete Lagoas in Brazil, another report said.